Information Sheet Five Themes of Geography Project
General Information
In this project, you will continue to work with the five themes of geography by creating a poster board and letter that describes one of the 50 states. You may also choose to report on Puerto Rico for your project. The project will be divided into three parts, each with a separate due date. We will go to the library as a class to begin working on the project, but most of the project should be completed outside of class. This project will represent 20% of your marking period grade. If you fail to hand in a project, you will likely fail for the marking period. Start your project early so you have time to do the project neatly, accurately and correctly. If you need help on the project, see me early. Do not wait until the week that the project is due.
Project Overview
The project will be divided into three parts. Each one will be handed in and graded separately.
· Part 1 – Complete the Research Worksheet. It will be graded on accuracy, completeness, neatness and spelling. If your sheet is messy and difficult to read, re-write it! You may also type your Research Worksheet; just make sure you include all of the information that I have asked for. (20% of the project grade)
· Part 2– Write a letter to your homeroom teacher as if you were visiting the state that you have chosen. In the letter, explain to your teacher, what your state is like using the five themes of geography. Begin your letter with an introductory paragraph. In your first paragraph, describe the state’s relative location. Next, tell your teacher about the state’s physical features and climate. In your letter, describe the role human environment interaction plays in your state by explaining how many people live there and what the agricultural and industrial products of your state are. Also explain how the theme of movement is important by describing some of your state’s history and historical sites. Lastly, describe how your state is part of one of the regions of the United States. Your letter should have a concluding paragraph. (40% of the project grade)
· Part 3 – Construct a poster board of your state with a section for each one of the five themes. Make sure each section is clearly labeled. Each section theme should provide the most important features that you have discovered about the state that you have chosen. Use your research worksheet as a starting point of what to include, but there is other information that you will want to include. If you need a refresher of how each theme is used, refer to your textbook or the notes that we took in class. The text on the poster must be organized as a bulleted list. You should use a large font size for the text so it can be easily read from a distance. You need to have at least one picture in each theme section of Place, Movement and Human Environment Interaction. It is acceptable to have more pictures, just make sure the photos help tell the story of your state. Use a map for the theme of location. The theme of Regions can be a map or a picture. You must list the resources used on your poster board (front or back of poster). PUT YOUR NAME ON THE BACK OF THE POSTER! (40% of the project grade)
Due Dates Part One - Research Worksheet, is due on October 3. (20%)
Part Two – Letter about Your State, is due October 10. (40%)
Part Three – Five Theme Poster, is due October 17. (40%)
Resources Listed below are the Internet Resources that you should use. The library also has an entire section of state books for you to use. You of course may also use almanacs from a library.
The World Almanac for Kids website is very useful. Go to that site and scroll down to Chapters. Click on the chapter for the United States. Once the United States chapter comes up, scroll down to the section The 50 states, A-Z. The best sources for the theme of regions is the United States Regions site and the State –by-state atlases that I have in my classroom.
Your poster must have a complete list of the sources that you used for the entire project.
Helpful Hints for Your Poster
Listed below are some hints for completing parts two and three of the project.
Location
Give a description of your state’s relative location. Be specific. Describe where your state is located by describing what it is near. What are the states that border it? What about bodies of water such as oceans, bays and seas? Is your research topic located on a river? How far is it from other places? Use a map to find the answers to these questions. Remember to speak like a geographer. Use the cardinal directions and other geographic directions (northeast, southwest, etc.)
Place
The theme of place has two sub-topics.
1. Physical features – Describe the main physical features of your state. You should consider things such as: What kind of landforms does it have? What are their names? How large are they? What are they like? Where in the state are they found?
2. Climate and Vegetation – On part 3, provide a section (in bullets) that describes the climate. What is the climate type and region? What about daily temperatures and weather throughout the year? You should also include information about vegetation in this section. Large states may have multiple climate types, be sure to mention what they are and their relative locations such as northern, southern etc.
Movement
How does movement, in particular the movement of people, affect the state that you’re researching? You should consider the history of your state and what is happening today. Identify and describe some of the important historical sites as well the main cultural places of interest such as sports, and entertainment.
Human-Environment Interaction What have humans done to this state? What kinds of crops do they grow? What kinds of minerals and other natural resources does it have? Give the state’s population and describe how population is distributed. Where do people live? You may want to consider what significant dams, bridges, or highways are in the state.
Regions
Identify the region of the United States that your state is in. What ethnic or cultural region is your state part of? What physical region is your state a part of? Is it in the Northeast, New England, Southwest, Central Plains or other region? It may fall into more than one region, depending on how we classify a region.
General Information
In this project, you will continue to work with the five themes of geography by creating a poster board and letter that describes one of the 50 states. You may also choose to report on Puerto Rico for your project. The project will be divided into three parts, each with a separate due date. We will go to the library as a class to begin working on the project, but most of the project should be completed outside of class. This project will represent 20% of your marking period grade. If you fail to hand in a project, you will likely fail for the marking period. Start your project early so you have time to do the project neatly, accurately and correctly. If you need help on the project, see me early. Do not wait until the week that the project is due.
Project Overview
The project will be divided into three parts. Each one will be handed in and graded separately.
· Part 1 – Complete the Research Worksheet. It will be graded on accuracy, completeness, neatness and spelling. If your sheet is messy and difficult to read, re-write it! You may also type your Research Worksheet; just make sure you include all of the information that I have asked for. (20% of the project grade)
· Part 2– Write a letter to your homeroom teacher as if you were visiting the state that you have chosen. In the letter, explain to your teacher, what your state is like using the five themes of geography. Begin your letter with an introductory paragraph. In your first paragraph, describe the state’s relative location. Next, tell your teacher about the state’s physical features and climate. In your letter, describe the role human environment interaction plays in your state by explaining how many people live there and what the agricultural and industrial products of your state are. Also explain how the theme of movement is important by describing some of your state’s history and historical sites. Lastly, describe how your state is part of one of the regions of the United States. Your letter should have a concluding paragraph. (40% of the project grade)
· Part 3 – Construct a poster board of your state with a section for each one of the five themes. Make sure each section is clearly labeled. Each section theme should provide the most important features that you have discovered about the state that you have chosen. Use your research worksheet as a starting point of what to include, but there is other information that you will want to include. If you need a refresher of how each theme is used, refer to your textbook or the notes that we took in class. The text on the poster must be organized as a bulleted list. You should use a large font size for the text so it can be easily read from a distance. You need to have at least one picture in each theme section of Place, Movement and Human Environment Interaction. It is acceptable to have more pictures, just make sure the photos help tell the story of your state. Use a map for the theme of location. The theme of Regions can be a map or a picture. You must list the resources used on your poster board (front or back of poster). PUT YOUR NAME ON THE BACK OF THE POSTER! (40% of the project grade)
Due Dates Part One - Research Worksheet, is due on October 3. (20%)
Part Two – Letter about Your State, is due October 10. (40%)
Part Three – Five Theme Poster, is due October 17. (40%)
Resources Listed below are the Internet Resources that you should use. The library also has an entire section of state books for you to use. You of course may also use almanacs from a library.
The World Almanac for Kids website is very useful. Go to that site and scroll down to Chapters. Click on the chapter for the United States. Once the United States chapter comes up, scroll down to the section The 50 states, A-Z. The best sources for the theme of regions is the United States Regions site and the State –by-state atlases that I have in my classroom.
Your poster must have a complete list of the sources that you used for the entire project.
- 50 States.com: http://www.50states.com/
- InfoPlease U.S. States: http://www.infoplease.com/states.html
- Kid’s Almanac Online: http://www.shgresources.com/resources/almanac/
- State Histories: http://www.shgresources.com/resources/history/
Helpful Hints for Your Poster
Listed below are some hints for completing parts two and three of the project.
Location
Give a description of your state’s relative location. Be specific. Describe where your state is located by describing what it is near. What are the states that border it? What about bodies of water such as oceans, bays and seas? Is your research topic located on a river? How far is it from other places? Use a map to find the answers to these questions. Remember to speak like a geographer. Use the cardinal directions and other geographic directions (northeast, southwest, etc.)
Place
The theme of place has two sub-topics.
1. Physical features – Describe the main physical features of your state. You should consider things such as: What kind of landforms does it have? What are their names? How large are they? What are they like? Where in the state are they found?
2. Climate and Vegetation – On part 3, provide a section (in bullets) that describes the climate. What is the climate type and region? What about daily temperatures and weather throughout the year? You should also include information about vegetation in this section. Large states may have multiple climate types, be sure to mention what they are and their relative locations such as northern, southern etc.
Movement
How does movement, in particular the movement of people, affect the state that you’re researching? You should consider the history of your state and what is happening today. Identify and describe some of the important historical sites as well the main cultural places of interest such as sports, and entertainment.
Human-Environment Interaction What have humans done to this state? What kinds of crops do they grow? What kinds of minerals and other natural resources does it have? Give the state’s population and describe how population is distributed. Where do people live? You may want to consider what significant dams, bridges, or highways are in the state.
Regions
Identify the region of the United States that your state is in. What ethnic or cultural region is your state part of? What physical region is your state a part of? Is it in the Northeast, New England, Southwest, Central Plains or other region? It may fall into more than one region, depending on how we classify a region.